material witness
21
6.0
- noun
- /məˈtɪəriəl ˈwɪtnəs/
- Formal
:
testigo clave
- Until then, I'm simply holding him as a material witness to a possible homicide.
- material witness warrant
- material witness in this case
- detained as a material witness
Examples
-
Your son is a material witness to a homicide.
-
Meanwhile, you will be held as a material witness in the case of the People versus Ralph Wiley.
-
That makes her a material witness and quite possibly a suspect.
-
A warrant has been issued for her as a material witness.
-
Gary was arrested on a material-witness warrant and jailed for two weeks so prosecutors could be certain he would testify.
Blog text (13) -
The man gave him another once-over and said, "You are being held as a material witness in seventeen murders that have occurred in and around this area."
Fiction book (1999) -
The Prosecutor's Office estimates it issues roughly 50 material-witness warrants each year to compel witnesses and victims to testify in various cases.
Blog text (13) -
The district attorney's office has said the girl is a material witness in the case.
-
Quinn Perkins is a material witness to a murder, and as such, she stays with me.
-
The government said it is holding the brothers as material witnesses in the case.
How Important
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a witness whose testimony is essential and directly relevant' is directly and compositionally derived from 'material' (having direct relevance or importance) modifying 'witness' (a person who testifies). This adjective+noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE meaning, despite its legal register.
Etymology
The term material witness comes from law where material means 'important' or 'has to do with the case' and witness is a person who saw or knows something. So a material witness is someone whose testimony really matters to the case.